VIDEO: Ares 1-X launches into the Future

Ares 1-X lifts-off today at 11:30 am EDT from KSC, FL.

Ares 1-X rocket makes successful test flight

The world's tallest rocket set to carry America to the space station and beyond in 2015 launched into blue skies and into the next generation of space flight -- that is if the Obama administration provides the necessary funding.

Lift-off of the new Ares 1-X test flight from the Kennedy Space Center occurred at 11:30 am EDT today, following a two hour launch delay due to clouds and systems checks caused by several local lightning strikes the night before.

The launch team and technicians worked through a delayed countdown earlier this morning following some 150 lightning strikes which occurred within a five mile radius of Ares' launch pad 39-B overnight.

The countdown remained on hold at T-4 minutes through most of the four hour launch window. just when the launch team was ready to go at 10:45 am, Air Force meteorologist Kathy Winters at Cape weather called no-go due to a cloud in the area at launch time which could cause an electric condition known as triboelectrification.

Triboelectrification, by definition, is when electric discharge resulting from the accumulation of electric charge on an insulated body. So the launch team waited and continued to received updated weather reports from the air.

Once the white, brilliant candlestick cleared the launch tower at T+6 seconds, it's 2.6 million pounds of thrust forced Ares to rise sharply as it's solid fueled booster steered its "dummy" upper stage payload out over the Atlantic waters. At T+ two minutes and nine seconds, as the rocket booster's solid fuel expired, the upper stage separated on time and began it's decent into the waters off Cape Canaveral. Meanwhile, the rocket booster continued it's upward climb to an altitude of 29 miles caused by forward momentum.


Across the river from Cape Canaveral at Space View Park in north Titusville, a nice crowd gathered on a beautiful morning as the sun rose for the anticipated launch.

SpaceLaunch News publisher Mary Myers commented to this reporter on the turnout for a non-space shuttle flight, "It looks like people are still interested in the space program. People are turning out. Several of our local (Orlando) news channels are here, too."

In all the launch team has deemed this flight as a huge success, and will pour over all the data over the next year to make improvements and update designs as NASA now works to ready the next test flight, Ares 1-Y, in 2014.

NASA Go for Tuesday's Ares 1-X Test Flight

NASA and the launch team at the Kennedy Space Center are officially GO for launch of the test flight of the new Ares 1-X rocket on Tuesday morning, however the weather stands to delay launch based on the current forecast.

Ares I-X launch director, Ed Mango stated today, "It's great to be part of a team that put a rocket together in the time it took. The team is ready to go fly. The vehicle is ready to go fly."

But weather woes could force a launch day delay for NASA's new rocket which they are hoping will take America to the International Space Station following the space shuttle's retirement in 2010.

Launch of the Ares 1-X flight is set for Tuesday morning at 8:00 am EDT, from launch complex 39-B. The launch window is four hours. If weather violates launch morning flight rules, NASA then has launch opportunities on both Wednesday and Thursday to try again.

Launch morning will begin at 1AM EDT, at the T-7 hour mark. There is only one hold in this countdown at the T-4 minute mark. Meteorologists from Cape Weather will launch a weather balloon to collect upper atmosphere data.

As the countdown moves along, more weather balloons will be launched and the rocket will begin to come to life as avionics and recorders are powered up. At 7:36 am, the countdown will hold for 20 minutes at the T-4 minute point. During those 20 minutes, launch director Ed Mango will poll the team to ensure the readiness to proceed. Listen for key "Go's" from both weather officer Kathy Winters and Range Safety during the poll.

In the final minute of the count, the SRB auxiliary power units will be started; final navigation software updates will be uploaded; and a final gimbal check of the SRB thrust nozzles will be performed.

Once Ares 1-X clears the launch tower at T+6 seconds, it will fly up to an altitude of 130,000 feet before the second stage separates from the solid rocket boosters first stage.


Following a successful flight test by the Ares 1-X, a second test flight - Ares 1-Y - is currently targeted for mid-2014. On the heels of that successful flight, the third test flight, Orion 1, will see a full compliment of the Ares 1 vehicle, including five segment SRB and a real uncrewed Orion crew module.

This first test flight is a large step toward understanding the groundwork in getting Ares 1 into delivering humans to space by 2015.

Ares 1-X rocket gets connected to Pad 39-B

A few great NASA-KSC digital images of the new Ares 1-X rocket at it's launch pad at midday today. The rocket is taller than those flying around the globe today, and stands over 100 feet taller than the space shuttle.

A New White Candlestick Shines on Pad 39-B

After over three years of planning and construction, a brilliant white candle stick shines a top launch pad 39-B at this hour.

Under gray clouds and a brisk wind, the future of America's space flight arrived at it's ocean side launch pad this morning as it prepares for lift-off next week.

The Ares 1-X vehicle a top the mobile launcher platform was officially hard down a top launch pad 39-B at 9:17 am EDT today. Over the next few hours, pad technicians worked to connect the rocket to power sources and connect a stabilization collar near the upper mid section. Upcoming at about 12:40 pm, the rotating service structure will be moved around the rocket as it helps provide weather protection and access to avionics sections, too.

The candlestick's 4.2 mile slow trek from the massive Vehicle Assembly Building out to Pad 39-B was the first time a non-space shuttle stack has occupied the pad. Launch pad 39-B has launched such notable flights as the Apollo 10 lunar orbital flight; Apollo 18 which linked up with the Russian Soyuz in 1975; and the ill-fated Challenger launch in 1986.

Launch of the Arex 1-X remains set for this Tuesday morning, October 27, at 8AM EDT. If lift-off is scrubbed, NASA's Kennedy Space Center launch team have both Oct. 28 and 29th booked on the eastern test range.

Future of American Human Spaceflight Debuts

The future of the American human space flight program debuted early this morning as a new, white 327-foot rocket began it's roll out to the launch pad to prepare for a new decade of space travel.

First motion of the crawler transport carrying the Ares 1-X rocket began at 1:39 am EDT, this morning -- 98 minutes later than planned due to this being the first rollout of this new rocket.

The 1.8 million pound rocket inched at a slow rate as it traveled the 4.2 miles from high bay 3 in the massive Vehicle Assembly Building out to launch pad 39-B this morning.

On Thursday, the Ares 1-X launch team in firing room 1 will run through a practice countdown in preparation for the launch test.

The Ares 1-X launch is set for 8AM EDT on Tuesday, October 27th. The launch window will last four hours.

After Ares 1-X clears the tower six seconds following launch, it will head east and fly up to 28 miles before separating it's first stage booster rocket some 244 statue miles down range.

The future of the new Constellation program calls for the next unmanned flight, Ares 1-Y, in 2014, and a third test flight called Orion 1 which will see the module achieve orbit shortly after 1-Y's success.

NASA ARES 1X rocket to rollout on Tuesday

The future of America's human space flight will take it's first baby steps on Tuesday morning as NASA sends out to the launch pad a new rocket designed to replace the space shuttle fleet in the coming years ahead.

The Ares 1X rocket test launch will be the first step in the beginning of the Constellation program which will consist of both Ares 1 and Ares 5 rockets transporting Americans and her space partners to the International Space Station and beyond.

Rollout from high bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center is scheduled to begin one minute after midnight this Tuesday morning as it rides a top Mobile Launcher Platform #1. Approximately 7 hours later, the MLP should arrive at launch pad 39-B following it's slow crawl over four miles.

Rollout was originally planned for this Monday, but "During testing late on October 14, hydraulics engineers detected a gaseous nitrogen leak in the accumulator which is located in the aft skirt of the rocket. The pressurized nitrogen is leaking past a seal and into the area of the accumulator containing hydraulic fluid. The accumulator absorbs hydraulic pressure spikes as the system operates. The accumulator (was) removed and replaced today," according to Kennedy Space Center officials.

Pad 39-B has supported space shuttle launches since 1986 and was recently decommissioned to begin supporting the Ares program.

Launch of the new Ares is scheduled for October 27th at 8AM EDT - the launch window is four hours and is dictated by workers rest. Much like the first space shuttle launch, the launch team will be working through an entirely new launch countdown procedure book and the computers will be checking to ensure is item is completed before it commits to launch.

Once launched, technicians here at Kennedy will collect data on several key points:

• The way the Ares 1 leaves the pad and rolls
• How the Ares handles under staging
• Aerodynamic loads as it reaches Mach 1 and beyond and the stress loads of 2.5 G's
  
• and dummy capsule return

Once Ares 1X launches from pad 39-B, it will generate 2.6 million pounds of thrust as it rises to begin a new era of space flight, that is if the Obama administration elects to keep Ares.

The Ares first stage will separate at an altitude of 130,000 feet out over the Atlantic Ocean, however due to it's forward velocity of Mach 4.7, the Ares will travel up to around 150,000 feet before falling back.

SpaceLaunchNews.com will have LIVE video coverage of the unmanned flight beginning at 7AM EDT on launch day. Follow us via Twitter @spacelaunchnews.

ARES 1 Motor Test Scrubbed at T-20 seconds

A major test of the new Ares 1 rocket motor was delayed this afternoon in Utah as the failure of a power unit on the new rocket failed with just 20 seconds before ignition.

Ignition of the powerful rocket motor was to have punched the quiet beautiful mountain side of the Midwest at 3:15 pm EDT today, however an auxiliary power unit failed and the count held.

There is no new time or date for the rescheduled test.

When the demo motor does fire, it will produce some 3.6 million pounds of thrust as the ATK company and NASA work to prepare the next booster which will carry humans to the space station and beyond following the space shuttle's retirement soon.

The ARES 1 demonstration motor (above today) is using an aft skirt from the very first space shuttle flight's solid rocket booster, STS-1.

ARES 1X Stacking continues in the VAB

NASA-KSC Image

Ares 1X stacking saw the attachment of the escape tower today in High Bay 4 of the Vehicle Assembly Building here at the Kennedy Space Center. The first Ares test flight, known as 1X, is scheduled for this August from Launch Complex 39-B.

ARES 1X Stacking Toward July Test Launch

At the Kennedy Space Center today, stacking of the ARES 1X test vehicle continues in high bay 4 of the Vehicle Assembly Building.

In this NASA/KSC image taken this morning, workers are moving quickly to prepare for the anticipated test flight this July - or August based on the need to use Pad 39B in support of the Hubble flight.

KSC WORKING TOWARD ARES 1-X JULY LAUNCH

It was a busy week at the Kennedy Space Center as technicians and engineers made milestones in preparing for this summer's test launch of the new ARES rocket.

Scheduled for its test launch from complex 39-B in late-July 2009, the ARES 1-X will test ground support systems, such as fueling and launch pad support. ARES will be the main mode of space travel by astronauts throughout the 2010's & 2020's as Americans prepare for a return stay on the Moon.

The above NASA/KSC digital images were taken on December 4th inside high bay 4 of the vehicle assembly building at KSC. Great pictures show what most have not seen, the coming together of the upper stage segment pieces for ARES 1-X.

The late-July ARES launch is based on a May launch of shuttle Atlantis on the delayed Hubble Space Telescope servicing flight. Due to new flight rules, since Atlantis is not flying to the space station on Mission STS-125, a back up shuttle needs to be on the adjacent pad in support of a possible rescue mission. This is based on post-Columbia rules to support a damaged shuttle on orbit.

Measuring 18 feet wide, the segments are pretty much a modified solid rocket booster.

ARES is step one under NASA's new Constellation program which reflects trips to the space station, the Moon and Mars. ARES 1 will be for crew transport, while ARES 5 will support station and Lunar cargo flights only. Orion will be the name of the crew vehicle which will dock to the station, or carry a crew of four and a lunar lander to the Moon's orbit beginning around 2020.

The first human flight aboard the ARES-Orion vehicle is slated for about 2014. The image above shows Orion enroute to the space station, with it's high gain antenna deployed and disk solar arrays on either side.